‘Almost the perfect Guardiola player’: Arsenal sent Ilkay Gundogan message amid contract claims

Follow us on Google Discover

Owen Hargreaves has waxed lyrical about Arsenal transfer target Ilkay Gundogan after he won a fifth Premier League title in the colours of Manchester City.

The 32-year-old is out-of-contract at the Etihad in the summer and he could bow out by winning the treble as Manchester City’s captain, with Hargreaves thinking he is ‘almost the perfect Pep Guardiola player’, as he told Premier League Productions (21/05/23 at 6:50 pm).

Added to that, Hargreaves described Ilkay Gundogan as someone who ‘always produces the goods’ when those big games arrive, as he has proved during these last few months.

Unluckily for Arsenal, it has come at their expense because they blew their chance to become champions of England for the first time since 2004.

But could Gundogan don their colours next season? Amid Mikel Arteta wanting to reunite with another Manchester City player, it’s been suggested that he will be offered the deal he wants at the Etihad and he could stay put.

A player of Gundogan’s talent, calmness and technical ability can certainly continue to win trophies, with Hargreaves praising the midfielder’s importance.

“A fabulous football player,” said Hargreaves. “He can play in so many different positions. Remember that season when he was almost their goalscorer?

“He can play as a centre-forward. Deep midfielder. Box-to-box. He is almost the perfect Pep player, Ilkay Gundogan, with no ego. No opinion. He can be dropped and sit on the bench.

“He can play in the biggest of games and is always there when you need him. He always produces the goods. And he is humble and respectful. But deep down there is a winner.

“I think Gundogan sets the tone for what Pep wants from these players. He doesn’t want divas. You look at Cancelo. There is something there that he didn’t like and he was gone.”

COULD ARSENAL MAKE A ‘BIG STATEMENT’ BY SIGNING GUNDOGAN?

Arsenal and Arteta have been down this road before when they secured the signatures of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

But someone like Gundogan would elevate Arsenal’s midfield to higher levels, with Ally McCoist thinking it would be a ‘big statement’ by the club.

There’s no doubt that he starts straight away and fits into that left-sided number eight role, alongside Thomas Partey, with reports that Granit Xhaka is about to leave.